FIRE SERVICES BILL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26747, 16 April 1948, Page 6

FIRE SERVICES BILL

DRAFT PROPOSALS NOT YET ADOPTED BY PARTIES The delegates to the annual conference of the Municipal Association of New Zealand had an opportunity yesterday afternoon to discuss the draft clauses for the proposed Fire Services Bill which were drawn up after conference between the association and the New Zealand Federated Fire Brigades Employees’ Industrial Association, the United Fire Brigades’ Association, and the Fire Boards’ Association. The conference decided to refer the draft proposals back to the Executive Committee with power to act in future discussions after the secretary, Mr A. E. Hurley, had outlined the steps leading up to the formulation of the proposals. Mr Hurley said that four conferences dealing with proposals for the Fire Services Bill had been held since December at the request of the Minister of Labour and with the Under-secre-tary of Labour, Mr Bockett, in the chair, but the Municipal Association and the Fire Boards’ Association still disagreed on the question of what organisation should be empowered to approve the fire boards’ estimates. He added that the draft proposals had so far not been adopted by any of the organisations which would be a party to them. T!he definition of a part-time fireman was only a compromise at this stage. Mr Hurley said that the draft was formed to give statutory protection to voluntary firemen. If they were true volunteers they could not be brought into a union.